For a number of years, articles of footwear and various items of clothing have been sold with decorative arrays of light sources such as light emitting diodes (LEDs). This has been particularly popular in children's shoes where the LEDs are arranged to complement other design elements of the shoe such as cartoon characters and the like.
In a typical design of an article of footwear of the type noted above, a light module is provided including a plastic housing which is usually mounted within a cavity formed in the heel area of the shoe. The plastic housing contains a battery, a switch and an integrated circuit or other controller which is connected by wires to LEDs located externally of the housing and positioned at desired locations on the outsole, upper or tongue of the shoe. The controller is effective to turn on and off the LEDs, often in a flashing pattern or sequence, to enhance the visual effect and draw attention to the shoe. In many designs, the controller is enabled by the switch that may be operated manually or turned on and off in response to the application of an inertial force, pressure or motion to the shoe. Systems of this type are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,525,487; 6,286,975; 6,012,822; 5,969,479; 5,894,201 and 5,812,063.